The Beginnings of a Supervillian
by F-35 Phoenix
Summary: Prequel to The Life and Times. Lord Zedd, Emperor of the Dark Dimensions, is also known as Lord Zedd, Savior of a Thousand Worlds. But when he can save no more, could Earth's last hope lie in its most unlikely defendant? AU.TommyKim,ZeddRita READ A/N
1. Prologue

**Well, here it is. The first chap of "The Beginning of a Supervillian"! Just to be clear, this is not my story, it belongs to ****PinkRangerV,**** who wrote the sequel, and everything before chap three is hers. Chap 3 and on, however, is mine, with PRV as my wonderful Beta. So, I pretty much own nothing. I'm so pathetic.**

**Chapter one**

_"Shh. The Pink Ranger's sleeping."_

_The Green Ranger's dagger is at the girl's throat, Jason's blaster aimed at his own head. Jason hesitates. The Green Ranger smiles beneath his helmet. "You won't dare. Not if she could get hurt. You love her, don't you?" A pause. "Poor Red Ranger. You love her, but you'll never have her. Not the way you want her. She thinks you're her big brother. Brothers don't fuck their sisters."_

_Jason winces at the word. "Leave her alone. Or I swear to God you'll pay."_

_The Green Ranger chuckles. "Pay? How? You can't even defend your command center." He glances down at Kimberly. "It doesn't matter. If I sweeten my voice, she'll come willingly enough. She'll eat out of my hand if I ask her to."_

_Jason's eyes widen in horror at the threat. "Don't...don't you dare. Don't even think about going near her."_

_"Why not?"_

_Both Rangers are quiet for a minute, staring at each other. Then the Green Ranger shrugs. "I have all the power, Jason. You have nothing. Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt her...much. Nothing she won't beg me for." He smirks. "It's not wrong if she's saying 'harder', Superboy."_

_Jason's eyes turn cold and hard, like frozen gemstones. "You would rape her."_

_Both boys pause. For a brief second, the Green Ranger's pose changes. "No." He whispers hoarsely. "Never. Not that." He brushes Kimberly's hair out of her face. "I love her." He says almost absently, then just as suddenly snaps. "But I'm going to kill her in front of you if you don't let me leave. All of you. And I won't be merciful to Kimmy here."_

_A very sharp katana touches his throat._

_"I'd recommend you leave minus the bloodshed." Trini says quietly. "Before you do something that can't be undone, Green Ranger." Calm, in control, clearly the only adult present._

_The Green Ranger backs away. "It's not over, Superboy. And when it is, you'll wish this were the only thing that happened. Trust me."_

I turn away, sickened. That was a _child_ saying those things. A sixteen-year-old boy. How...how could this have _happened_?

I sigh and shut my eyes.

"LORD ZEDD." Zordon pauses. "YOU SAW THE TAPE."

"No! I didn't see them! You just left them on my krithing doorstep, you bloody imbecile!" I snap, snatching up my staff and whirling on the viewing screen. "What in the name of the nine Earth hells was that about?"

"THOMAS WAS A RATHER...INTERESTING RANGER WHEN YOUR WIFE TURNED HIM EVIL." Zordon says musingly.

I sigh. "You want to keep me from recruiting him, I take it."

Zordon nods. "I AM AWARE OF YOUR SITUATION WITH THE COUNCIL OF LIGHT. AND YOU KNOW, ZEDD, THAT I WILL NEVER ABANDON MY ATTEMPTS TO HELP YOU."

I nod as well. "And you are aware that I am in your debt. This latest batch of Rangers...perhaps they will destroy the need for balance at all." I smile, or rather try to. "Thomas is a good addition to your team, at least now."

Zordon smiles. "YES. I AM RATHER PROUD OF HIM." He pauses. "I AM AWARE OF YOUR NEED FOR A SUCCESSOR. AFTER ALL, SOMEONE MUST SAVE THE FEW PLANETS THAT HAVE NOT YET JOINED AN EMPIRE. PERHAPS JASON..."

I nod slowly. "I'll think about it."

Zordon leaves. I sigh and turn back to the tape. Vicious, cruel, cold, all of those things are in this Green Ranger.

But Zordon missed something.

I rewind the tape. This boy...even evil, he is complex. And I have a rather newer tape. One that shows him as a leader, a warrior. A hero, driven by dark knowledge. Jason lacks that complexity, but for this task, complexity, subtlety, all those are required.

Perhaps Thomas is worth a second chance.

_"Shh. The Pink Ranger's sleeping."_


	2. Truth and Consequences

**Same disclaimers apply.**

**Chapter Two**

"Zedd, I'm gonna _kill_ you!"

I set down my scroll and glance over. Thomas, clad in a nightshirt with an expression of pure rage on his face, has apparently awoken.

"Hello to you, too." I reply. "Why are you going to kill me? This time, anyway?"

Thomas actually counts to ten. Amusing. Of course, I doubt he knows that I can sense his thoughts. "_Give me my morpher back_." He growls verbally as soon as his count is finished.

I smile slightly. "No."

Thomas raises an eyebrow. Suddenly his emotions change.

_There_. That one, essential quality I was looking for. Right there, in his emotions--before my eyes he's becoming subtle, quick, drawing on knowledge instead of firepower.

Good boy.

"You kidnapped me, stole my morpher, and you really think Jason and the others won't come for me?" Thomas asks, crossing his arms.

"Well, at least you don't think Zordon will come for you." I reply, going back to my scroll, or at least pretending to. Children show more of themselves when they think you aren't paying attention.

"He's a floating head in a tube, he's kind of stuck on Earth." Thomas shoots back, rolling his eyes. "I think Jason's going to come for me because he has _legs_."

I chuckle. "Zordon has a body. It's just a very, very old one." I raise my eyes from my scroll. "You still haven't explained why I should return your morpher." Let's see if you can sustain that subtlety. Reason with me, Thomas, show me how you think and how to keep you thinking.

You're the most promising student I've ever had.

"Because if you don't return it, Jason's gonna kick your ass." Thomas smirks, apparently having proved some point.

I sigh. "Thomas, you are all wonderful fighters, but you are sixteen years old. I am over two thousand with quite a few hundred years of training, and the added advantage of my body not being so filled with hormones I can't move without tripping over my own feet. I don't think Jason is anything to worry about."

"We've kicked your butt before."

I sigh. "Thomas, I let you win. And if you're going to argue with me, I suggest you use reason instead of threatening me with your friends." I put my scroll down again, raising an eyebrow. This is crucial. If he cannot sustain logical thinking, he will be useless. "Now. Tell me, using logic, why I should give you the White Morpher back." Not as if I'm going to, but still.

Thomas pauses for a minute. My hopes rise. Jason would probably have just tried to attack me, but Thomas actually plays my game. "You should give me my morpher back because I'll get it anyway." Thomas says. "We always win. Whether or not you let us, we still win. So it'll be easier to just give up now and think of a new strategy." Thomas rolls his eyes. "Like, say, one that doesn't involve kidnapping."

I smile in satisfaction. Good. He's passed my test. "Good boy. Logically, that would make sense. However, I'm not giving you the morpher yet."

"Why not?"

I shrug. "It's a very long, boring story."

"I wanna hear it." Thomas deadpans.

I smile. "Well, once upon a time--" Thomas rolls his eyes, and I chuckle. Just like Thrax at that age. "All right, all right. The Dark Court and Council of Light have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. A few thousand years ago, however, the war became a bit more civilized. Treaties were introduced to prevent wholesale slaughter, and slowly the war morphed into a land war."

Thomas nods. "What's a land war?"

"Think of checkers." I explain. "Each piece is a planet, and you want as many pieces as you can get. Whoever has the most pieces wins the game." Thomas nods again. "Now, imagine that you can only jump the pieces at first, but then someone realizes they can convince you to move your pieces into exactly the right spot for jumping."

Thomas frowns. "That's what the Dark Court does?"

I shake my head. "That's what Eltar does. They use the Rangers to do it. See, once a planet has accepted Ranger technology, they begin to see Eltar as friendly. Then Eltar offers more and more 'help', until the planet declares itself allied with the Council of Light."

"So what's all this got to do with my morpher?" Thomas asks.

"Absolutely nothing." I smile. "I just needed an excuse to tell you the story. I'm not giving you the morpher because it's been infused with energy straight from the morphing grid, and it's going to kill you at some point."

Thomas frowns. "Zordon gave it to me, he wouldn't have given me something dangerous."

I shake my head. "He doesn't realize that you're human. Eltarians would be able to withstand that, but humans can't. Zordon's actually a tolerable old man, but he's not the brightest person ever sometimes." I shrug. "Therefore, you aren't getting your morpher back. Do you want to hear the rest of the story?"

"There's more?" Thomas says in surprise.

I smile. "When I saw what was happening, I realized that there was a way to stop Eltar. To truly free planets." I glance down at my unillusioned self. "I created the persona of Lord Zedd. You see, if there is a true threat to a planet, then the Council of Light doesn't attempt to conquer it. Do you know why?"

"Um, they're scared you'll win?" Thomas guesses.

"Close. What actually happens is that the population of the planet is simply too strong to fall for Eltar's nonsense. They've lived under a real threat, and are therefore smart enough to not trust people out of hand." I smile. "And that is what I do. I create a threat, not enough to destroy the Rangers, but enough to scare Eltar. And so far it has worked."

"So far?"

I glance at Earth again. "The Council has stopped believing me. You see, when I conquer a planet--sometimes it is necessary, unfortunately--I do not create a living nightmare for my new people. Instead, I create equality. Fairness. I mediate disputes, protect children, help preserve the planet. Eventually I am ruler in name only, and then not at all. Eltar has caught on to that."

"Oh. So it won't work anymore?" Thomas asks. "Hang on, you're done attacking Earth? We won?"

I chuckle. "Not quite. What I need, Thomas, is a successor. Someone who can carry on my work for me. I asked my son, Thrax, but his talents are better suited at working alone." I gaze solemnly at Thomas. "So I chose you."

I don't know what I was expecting, but it takes me utterly by surprise when Thomas laughs in my face.


	3. Ultimatum

**Once again, only this time this really is mine. Kinda. I wrote it….I'm still pathetic.**

**Chapter three:**

I'm laughing. I shouldn't be, but I am. I'm currently trapped, powerless, on the moon in an evil-emperor-of-darkness's palace, wearing nothing but a weird Victorian-era nightgown, face to face with the greatest threat Earth has faced to date, who could kill me as soon as look at me, who just got finished telling me that he's saving my home world. Who's starting to look a little annoyed with me.

Right. Hence the laughing.

"Do you _seriously_ expect me to _believe _this tripe?" I ask as I finally manage to regain control. "You actually expect me to believe that the self-proclaimed 'Evil Emperor of all He Sees' is really some intergalactic hero? And now you want _me _to become your 'successor'? Right. I believe you." I say, dripping with sarcasm. I'm about a second from losing control again before he says something that stops me cold.

"Haven't you ever wondered why?" He stands from his throne. "Why a being thousands of years old would choose five overbearing and overemotional _teenagers _to take over the responsibility of their entire _planet?_" No, honestly, I never though of that… "Why that same being of 'honor' and 'justice' would ask you to lie to your parents and friends when you're 'saving the planet'?" But he said it was to keep us safe! "Have you ever thought about why this 'honorable' Eltarian elder would ask _children _to fight creatures and enemies that would cause even the most hardened Earth warrior to quake in fear?!" He paused, breathing heavily. "Go on, ask why." Heaven help me, but my voice shakes as I do as I'm told.

"W-why?" I ask, knowing that I'm not going to like the answer.

"_Because you're easy to manipulate._" He huffs and sits back down. "Children don't ask questions. They take the Power that's been given to them because they're told it's for the good of the planet. They're told that they are 'outstanding individuals' and that the Power chose them because they were deemed the 'most worthy'. Then, once the fight becomes too tough, the enemy to strong, they become more than willing to hand over the protection of the planet to the Eltarian Empire. So simple, yet so effective; it's worked a thousand times, and it will work a thousand more."

"Oh…oh _god_..." I manage to choke out before my legs give out underneath me. Everything he's said, everything he's told me, it all makes sense. I wasn't there when Jase and the others were chosen, but I know what kind of people they are. They would have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. In my shock, I didn't hear Zedd come up beside me until his hand curled around my bicep and pulled me up.

"Zordon is also opposed to this, which is why the Earth rangers have survived as long as they have. He doesn't want to see another planet lost. But the Council is getting restless; they want Earth, but until there is proof that it can be subverted, they'll back off and stay off." I look up into his unmasked face, it's angular elven features blank. "I am no longer a credible threat, and so, with Zordon's somewhat unwilling consent, I had to choose one of his Rangers to succeed me. In the end, it came between you and Jason, but I stand by my wife's judgment; you are intelligent, crafty, and, above all, willing to do whatever it takes. Jason is a strong, good individual, but lacks the cunning needed to play this game. You are the perfect choice." He gave me a thoughtful look, "Really, you should be flattered." Great. I can do without these kinds of compliments.

I'm trying to stand on my own, I really am, but everything he's told me, along with the fact that I was unconcious a just under an hour ago, has mad me pretty much as weak as a newborn colt. I hear him sigh heavily before a flash of red envelops us, and when it clears we're in...wait, this is NOT my room. Oh well, I can hardly complain right now, when I can barely even move. He sets me on the bed and sits on the nearby chair. He's quiet, giving me time, I guess; I'm gonna need it to sort through everything I've been told. I'm glad he chose his true appearance for this little chat; his skinless form would have only made me freak out even more than I already have.

I should be asking whats going to happen, or what i'm going to have to do wh... -_if_- I do this. But I can't. So I ask the least relevent question I can.

"Wait, Rita is your _wife?_" And now he's laughing at me. Great.

"Of ALL the questions you could have asked me, after ALL I've told you, you're asking me about my _marital status?" _Trying not to think here, thank you.

"I think it's a perfectly legitimate question; didn't you rocket her into space not too long ago? In a dumpster no less." I ask, grinning slightly. Any reason to stop thinking about this.

"Well, maybe I overdid it with the dumpster, but my generals believe I am truly evil; most of what I do is for show, so that they continue to believe that and serve me as evil minions, like any good evil overlord would have." Umm, oxymoron right there, "and to answer your question, yes, Rita is my wife. We have a son named Thrax, who is currently somewhere in the Andromeda Galaxy, overseeing one of the planets I still 'rule.'" A son? Wow. If he's anything like those two I should be running for cover. We fall into a fairly comfortable silence, and I finally decide to get down to business.

"If…" I begin quietly, "if I actually do this…what will I become?" He sighs softly; I really don't think he wants to do this. He don't want to mix someone else into this mess, but I guess he has no choice; he sacrificed his whole life for the greater good. Can I do the same? Can I put aside everything I've ever known, for the sake of people that, we're it not for a sick twist of fate, I would have never even knew existed?

"A villain, like me; you'll be hated, scorned, and cursed in the same breath by those you count as friends. You'll have to do things that you would never even think of doing in your lifetime. But, you can still maintain your honor. Even after thousands of years of conquering, of torture and killing, I have yet to kill an innocent woman or child, you Rangers notwithstanding. Truly, the only thing that has kept me going through all of the atrocities that I have committed is the knowledge that I am keeping the people of the planets I conquer safe from the greater evils; the Dark Court and the Council of Light." I hate this, I really do, but as Zedd's going on about this, faces flash before my eyes. Of the people who I would be protecting, by betraying. My parents, Jase, Zack, Trini, Billy...

Kim.

I really don't have a choice.

"What do I have to do?" He smiles slightly and pulls me off the bed.

"Well, first I think we should get you out of that nightgown and into some decent clothes. You're probably freezing." Well, no, I'm not, a little numb, maybe, but not freezing. But thank you for remembering that. Can't really strike fear in the hearts of villagers in a nightgown, now can I? Oh god, don't think about it. Don't think about what your about to do. Don't think of what the others will do when they find out. Don't think of what _she _is gonna do when she finds out. Don't think about her…oh man, this is _bad. _

Maybe I should just not think at all.


	4. Getting the Look

**A\N: Hi! Pinky here. I'm sure Phoenix has his own note, but I wanted to state that, for the record, it was **_**not**_** my idea to split a chapter in half. Just for the record. Oh, and if you see Phoenix saying he's pathetic again, whack him, I only had to edit the tenses on this thing, and tenses are annoying anyway.**

**A/N Kuro here! An while I soooo wish that I could type out this chap un-split, I kinda needed to be in Tommy's mind at one part and in Zedd's the next. And if I did that mid-chap, I'd horribly confuse myself and Pinky, as well as all of you. So all of you waiting for 4.2, it will be up by at least 2300 hours EST tomorrow night. (That's 11:00 pm for all you non-military types.) Oh, and don't let Pinky fool, you; I am pathetic, but I'm also a GIRL!**

**Chapter 4.1**

I guess its karma.

After all that I've done, after all that I did under Rita's spell, its going to be her _husband _that finally succeeds in what she started nearly a year and a half ago. Of course, I'm not _really _going to be evil, just pretending, but I'm still going to have to get my fluffy not-so-white tail dirty to make the act convincing. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into!

"I suppose its best to go with an emerald/black combo, maybe a little silver, but nothing too gaudy…" oh, right, and said evil husband is currently going through his closets, trying to find a good evil general outfit for me. You know, for a guy who generally wears nothing but chrome bones and a facemask, he sure has a lotta clothes.

"Thomas, come here, I need to see if these need to be fitted." Realizing he's talking to me, I walk over and wait for him to finish sizing the mostly black outfit in his hands (benefit of magic I guess; your clothes always fit perfectly.). It's not bad, I suppose, almost identical to the 'teen ninja' training outfits I owned at home, the difference being the emerald mesh shirt that would show beneath the v'd collar, and the green sash that holds the wrap shirt closed. The bracers are black as well, but with silver plates, inlaid with emerald dragons.

"Can you use a sword?" Thank you, out-of-the-blue questions.

"You do realize a sword is my main weapon, right?" Hello? White Ranger here? Guy with the talking sword? And Saba is a hard guy to forget, let me tell you. Always butting in when his input is _so _not needed. Zedd sends me a scathing look and holds up the object in his hands.

Wow. I know enough about weapons to know that _that _is one beautiful sword. Its a katana, obviously, pitch black save for the silver strip that marks its cutting edge, and the emerald runes near the hilt.

"Can you use this type of sword?" Right; different sword, different styles. I nod, and he hands me the lethal looking katana and a black enamel sheath.

''Thats the Dark Prism Blade. Not the sword I wanted to give you in the first place, but it will have to do. At least until I can recreate the Sword of Darkness. I _told_ Rita not to give it out just yet." Huh, just another thing for them to discuss after she beats your head in for the dumpster ride. Wait, Sword of Darkness?!

"Uh-uh, no way. I did enough damage last time I used that thing." He sends my a wry smile and I realize my mistake. "Right, gotta stop thinking like good guy." Or, just stop thinking at all. But speaking of thoughts, why are we doing this now?

"Uh, I understand that looking the part is half the battle, but don't you think the full outfit can wait a little while? I mean, it's not like I'm going out to fight…"

"Tomorrow." Ummm, what?

"What?" He gave me an exasperated look.

"I don't need to teach you how to fight. You already are well adapted to life on the battlefield. I do, however need to teach you to harness magic, as well as how to emotionally detach yourself from the people you will be fighting, torturing, and killing. And I can't do that if your human friends are constantly trying to storm the palace to rescue you. So, tomorrow, you're going to tell them in no uncertain terms that you no longer fight for their side. This will include you giving one of them your Morpher." Oh no, nonononono. I can't do this. I can't fight them again!

Zedd turns to face me fully.

"Thomas, you _can _and you _will _do this. You must. You accepted my offer and are now my protégé. That includes listening to my orders. I don't know if you are aware of this, but the fact is that you were unconscious for over three days. We are now nearing the end of day four. This must be done soon, and sooner it's done, the sooner it's over and we can move on. The sooner _you _can move on. I am not going to lie and say it will be easy, its _not. _But you have to remember why you are doing this." Well, thank you mister…wait, hold the phone….

"Hold it, how did you know what I was thinking?" he gave me a sardonic smile.

"You're projecting; scratch that, you're practically shouting your thoughts out loud. Anyone with magic powers could pick up your thoughts. We'll have to work on that first. Now go get dressed. We need to get started on planning tomorrow's big reveal."

I'm doomed.


	5. Getting the Look Pt2

**A/N: Alrighty then, here's chapter 4.2. I was a little worried that Tommy was too intense in this chapter, but Pinky loves it, so here you go. Hope you all like!**

**Chapter 4.2:**

I direct Thomas to a side room where he can change, and as soon as the door shuts behind him, I collapse onto the bed. Damn. This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I knew going into this Thomas wasn't going to be entirely receptive to the idea, hell, it's to be expected. But, dear Goddess, I hadn't been expecting the shear amount of _anguish _rolling off the boy. I'm asking him to give up everything he's ever known to become the one thing he fears the most. And don't think I didn't pick up on that; one of the disadvantages of aura- and mind-reading is the effect that others emotions have on you; anger causes anger, and the like.

But even barring that, the fear in his eyes when I told him what he'd have to do to make the act convincing, Goddess, that almost made me put a stop to this right then. But I know what I'm doing, and, in time, Thomas will understand that as well. Hmm, Thomas, not exactly a frightening name, is it? Much less 'Tommy', as his friends call him. I'll have to work on that.

My thoughts are interrupted by the side door opening once more. Ah, much better; not too outlandish, like my own skinless form, but certainly imposing. Something seems missing though, hmmm…

"Well?" He's nervous. Been there, done that, kid. Hmm, he's pulled back his hair, I need to talk to him about cutting it; he's not wearing a helmet in battle anymore, it's gonna be in the way. But that missing something is still nagging me, what is it?

"What? Not evil enough?" Whoops, he wants an answer.

"No, no; its fine. Something just seems off." Then it hits me; his eyes! Dark chocolate brown is fine for a human hero, but evil villain glares are _so _much more effective when your eyes are something out of the ordinary. Something like…

"Here, look in the mirror." I snap once, and a simple illusion spell snaps over them. Much better; cold reptilian green with knifepoint pupils are much more frightening. "I'll keep the illusion up until I can teach you that spell. Of course, your eyes might change anyway; Rita's eyes were blue until her magic turned them purple." Oh, and now he's dejected, wonderful. It's a good thing I have my shields up; the emotions rolling off him would have sent a lesser-trained sorcerer to tears.

I need to change that. "Well? What do you think?"

Wait, the eyes are shifting…yes. There it is. One of the reasons I picked him over Jason; While Jason's anger would have exploded like a volcano, Thomas's starts slowly, as cold as creeping ice, that quickly turns into an icy, unstoppable burn. His head whips around to glare at me, and I know in an instant I made the right choice with the eyes. An angry dragon should have a dragon's eyes.

"_What _do I _think?_" He snarled at me. Oh yeah, defiantly dragon. Rita made a good choice with him. "I _think _that you are not just stealing my _life_, but _everything_ that makes me who I am!" And now he's stalking towards me like a cat hunting a mouse. "But you, of course, with your oh-so-superior wisdom, don't care about that do you?" A sharp crackle of green energy snaps over his clenched fists, and I know I just made a huge mistake. What's that saying? Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons? Yeah, that's it.

With a sudden sharp clarity, I realize I'm afraid. I'm actually afraid of a boy that would be considered a child on any planet. I faced warriors with decades, sometimes even centuries, of experience, without flinching or batting an eye, but this child with barley two years of battlefield experience is staring me down like I'm little more than an elfling.

There is defiantly something to be feared in Thomas Oliver.

(Of course, looking back on this later, I would realize that I could have easily nipped this right off at the bud, but, at the time, I wasn't exactly thinking straight.)

"But of course," He hissed through clenched teeth, "You and your mind reader powers would already know that, wouldn't you?" With that said, he turned sharply on his heel and stalked out the door, down the hall, and towards the training room.

This is gonna be a long day.

---------

A little over two hours later, I find him in the training room, meditating. His turbulent emotions had finally calmed.

"Are you ready to do this?" I ask softly. His eyes slowly slide open.

"Yes." Oh, that's different. No emotion, no inflection. It's like a switch had flipped in his head. I'm not picking up _anything._ It usually takes years of training to reach that level of emotional detachment. As we leave the training room, I notice his posture has changed; he's carrying himself more like a General than a teenager.

"We'll start the attack like nothings changed. I'll send down the Z-putties and a creature to draw the rangers out." A blink, that's all I get? "Instead of making it grow, as I would usually do, I will make an appearance. Once Jason is finished yelling at me for taking you and demanding answers, I will activate the portal in the Throne Room. You will come through and we'll see where it goes from there." He nods, and now he's seriously starting to creep me out. It's like he's not even in there anymore. I'll ask him later, I can sense Goldar coming down an adjacent hallway.

With a sharp slam of my Z-Staff, my skinless glamour wraps around me. Goddess, I hate this form.

"Master!" comes Goldar's scratchy growl, "I have prepared the putties and Finster's monster is ready to attack those worthless Power punks!" Sigh; time to put up the act once again. It's a pity. I was enjoying acting like a normal person with Thomas.

"Good! And with our new weapon, those power brats will not know what hit them!" I sneak a quick glance over. No reaction. Not good.

"And Earth will finally be yours!" Oh, that got a smirk. Something is defiantly off here. But I can't ask him about it now; I have an plan to put in motion.

Whether I want to or not.


	6. Dragon Rising

**A/N: Kuro here with chapter five! For all of you wondering whats the hell is going on with Tommy, sorry, thats not coming for a few chaps. Now before we begin, I'd like to thank **liron-aria, Ghostwriter, **and **ditena,** my first reviewers! Thank you so much and happy ficcing!**

**Chapter 5:**

Four days. It's been four days! No ransom, no attack, nothing! Zedd's mocking us, I know it!

"Jase, I know you're worried, we all are. But man, you're wearin' a hole in the floor!" Zack's exasperated statement cuts through the tense air of the command center. Not now buddy. My little bro (man, he'd kill me if he ever knew I called him that in my head!) has been missing for four days and not even Alpha and Billy could detect any trace of him! Four days of constant searching, four days of covering for him in classes and with his parents, four days of not even knowing if he was alive or not!

So where does that put us? Billy and Alpha running search after search, Trini trying to consol Kim while holding back her own tears, Zack trying to maintain for the girls, and me trying not to panic as I slowly wear a trench into the floor.

"Billy, Alpha, do you have anything yet?" God, this is driving me insane!

"I'm sorry, Jason, but Tommy seems to have just disappeared!" Yeah, we knew that four days ago! "Ay yi yi! We've tried every form of tracing available! If only Zordon we're here!" Yeah, he picked the perfect time to go into his 'restorative meditation' or whatever it was called. What kind of mentor goes into a five-day unreachable state when one his Rangers is in danger? Well, to be fair, he did enter that state roughly two hours before Tommy vanished. With no indication anything was going to happen, it was the perfect time for the Command Center to go through its mandatory, and sorely needed, recharge.

"Alpha's right, Jason; all of our tracking algorithms turned up negative. Without Zordon to help us calibrate the interdimesional sensors, there's no way to investigate the Dark Dimension or the Moon Palace. And because…" Anything he was about to add was interrupted by the monster alarms. "A new monster has just shown up in the Town Square." We all shift to look at the viewing globe hoping for any sign of our friend, but only get treated to what looks like a purple, humanoid grizzly bear in black armor and about a dozen Z-Putties. Dammit, we don't need this right now!

"Alright guys; we'll put this bear to bed and get back to the search." And maybe we can get some clues about Tommy's whereabouts in this battle. But even as I reach for my morpher, a tingle of unease settles in my gut. "It's Morphin' Time!"

I feel the familiar tingle of the Ranger suit covering my body, then the odd non-sensation of the teleport beam sending us to Angel Grove Town Square.

The putties attack first, predictably, and I'm so used to fighting them that I set my body on autopilot while I try to discern why I'm so unsettled. It's not until the last of the putties are gone that I realize something is off. As we converge on the monster de jour a cold feeling settles into my gut. It's not until we bring down the grizzly-thing that I realize why my bad feeling is so familiar.

I had this same feeling just before the Green Ranger showed up.

As if on cue, red lightning blasts down from a nearby building, striking all five of us down. A cackling laughter echoes all around us and I know that the big man himself has put in an appearance.

Good, now I can beat Tommy's location right out of him.

Casting a quick look around the rooftops, I spot him standing on a nearby three-story laughing like a hyena. Laugh it up, Zedd, you won't be for long!

"Hello Rangers! How did you like my little warm up?" Those words cause my cold feeling to condense into an icy knot of fear, but I'll be damned if I let him see that!

"Cut the games, Zedd! What have you done with Tommy?" I yell out to him. If he's hurt a hair on his head I'll…

"Oh, nothing he didn't ask for, brat!" Ask for? What is he talking about!? Tommy would never ask that bastard for anything!

"He said no games! Tommy would never ask anything from you! NOW WHERE IS HE!?" Ouch, those were my ears Kim. "TELL ME, ZEDD! If you've hurt him I swear you'll pay!" Oh man, she's as close to hysterical as she can get.

"Temper, Pink Ranger. I told you, I did nothing he didn't ask for! But perhaps you'd like to ask him yourself?" With a slam of his staff to the ground, a crackling red portal opens next to him. Oh, no, not this. A black form materializes out of the haze. Oh, man, not again! God, why is it always him! Hasn't he been through enough?!

Clad in black with a lethal-looking sword unsheathed in his hand, my best friend, my _brother_, is standing stoically next to his worst enemy. Zedd is laughing again, but I barely acknowledge it.

Green. All I can see are the cold green eyes staring out at me from Tommy's face. God, bro, what has he done to you?

"I am Tirthor," Oh, no, another name? He's got you bad this time, bro. "I am Lord of Dragon-kind. And you will not defeat me." Oh, god, your _voice_. It wasn't even that cold when you were the evil Green Ranger. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kim collapse to her knees.

Zedd, even if it takes my dying breath, you _will pay for this!_


	7. Dark Memories

**A/N: Kuro here, chapter six is finally up and ready to go. And yes, the truth about Tommy's recent actions will come out next chapter. As soon as I get typing. *sigh***

**Chapter 6:**

Of all the things I've seen in my time as a Ranger, of all the enemies I've faced, of all the things that Rita, and later, Zedd, were capable of, there was always one opponent that stuck in my memory; the Green Ranger.

Of course, you can hardly blame me. When you're powerless on you back, literally a second from being run through with a sword, staring up at a person who had recently become your worst nightmare, it tends to leave an impression.

I can still remember what it felt like to feel the visceral fear that overcame me when the Green Ranger stood over me, ready to end my life at any time should he so desire, while I lay powerless to stop him. To feel like a tiny mouse in the claws of a jungle cat.

All these thoughts and more flashed through my head as I stared up at Tommy, eyes bright green and steady. God, I'd hoped, _prayed, _that this would never happen to him again, to any of us. But especially not him.

"NO!" A flash of pink had flown by me as Kim rushed to the base of the building. "No! Your name is Tommy! You're our friend!" He cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. "Please! You need to remember!" She was too hysterical to notice the crackle of green energy that pulsed down his naked blade. But I did.

"Kim, LOOK OUT!" I only just managed to push her out of the way as a wave of emerald witchfire crashed into the spot where she was standing. As we rolled to the ground, I caught a glimpse of Tommy jumping headfirst off the building he was standing on.

My heart caught in my throat as he plummeted to his death, only to execute a perfect mid-air flip and land safely on the ground. But my relief lasted only a second as, in a blur of green and black, he charged.

The next few minutes were a blur of steel and witchfire, but I didn't need to be attentive to know that we were getting our asses handed to us. There was nothing of the shy, somewhat gentle boy I knew in the warrior that threw Zack to the ground, or the one that shattered Kim's bow, or the one who now stands over us, as we lay on the ground, beaten.

The memories rush through me again, and I realize what's going on. Looking up at the cold green eyes above me, I finally see why I'm so afraid.

Superimposed over the dark warrior above me, is the image of another, clad in green.

_Please, not again. Please._

I slowly try to reach for my sword, but his boot comes crashing down on my wrist.

"I don't think so."

_I don't think so. _The memory whispers. But the illusion is shattered when Tommy cocks his head to the side.

"Doesn't this bring back memories?" Oh god, no… "C'mon, you know what I mean." Oh _god_... "I know you do…Jason." He _remembers_...

"Tommy?" He smirks, and it sends a cold chill down my spine.

"Hey, bro." He knows. He remembers. Oh, god, is what Zedd said true?

"What are you…_Why_ are you…" His smirk turns into an evil grin.

"Why else?" He says, and cold fear creeps into my body, "Power."

"But… but _why_?" God, I sound like a moron. Tommy, _why_? The brother I knew would never say that!

"Never say that?" What? Did he read my mind!? "Of course I wouldn't. One wrong word and I'd be back in that damn cell Zordon put me in after the spell was broken." Cell, what cell!? "Oh, you didn't know? You never though to ask why I vanished for nearly a day after the spell was broken?" I thought you needed time to yourself! "Zordon locked me up. Alpha ran all sorts of tests on me to make sure I wasn't still under the spell. To make sure I had broken away completely." He wouldn't do that! "Oh yes he would. But you know? Even he never knew the truth." His grin grew sharkish, and I suddenly felt like a rabbit caught in the claws of the great Serpent.

"There was always a part of me that wanted what Rita gave me. One that wanted to reach out and snap dear little Trini's neck, just to see what it felt like. That wanted to dye your suit a true red. That wanted to see what makes Billy's mind so different than my own." He knelt, his knee crushing my sternum. "There was always a Dragon sleeping inside of me, Jase." The familiar nickname only served to make me colder. "Rita only woke it up. And you only put it back to sleep." He leaned close, and with a sharp crack, my morph exploded around me. "Give it up, little Rex. Tommy no longer exists. He was just a front I made to gain your trust." No… "Zedd has set my true self free." No!

He leans even closer, and whispered in my ear,

"I am Heir to the Emperor of the Dark Dimensions. I am Son of the Dark Empress. I am Master of the Emerald Witchfire. I am King of all Dragonkin." He stands sharply and places the edge of his blade at my throat. "I am Lord Tirthor." He holds out his hand, and a small device appears in a flash of green. "And a Dragon King has no use for a kitten's claws." He lets it fall on my chest. "Goodbye, Jason." And in another bright flash, he's gone.

I don't know how long I lay there, chest heaving. I don't even move until I hear the familiar six-toned beep of my communicator. I sit up, and Tommy's Morpher falls to the ground.

Tommy.

A brother that never existed.

On autopilot, I answer the communicator.

"Jason."

"JASON," Zordon. "TELEPORT BACK TO THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY."

Numbly, I pick up the discarded Morpher and activate the teleport command on my comm. I don't even notice the non-sensation of the teleporter activating.

The five of us sat numbly where the teleporter dropped us. Kim is sobbing in Zack's arms, Trini in Billy's. I look up at the being that had become a father figure to all of us.

"Its…its not true, right? It's some sort of spell. It has to be!" I'm nearing hysteria myself.

"I AM SORRY, JASON, BUT THE SCANS I HAVE DONE INDICATE THAT NO SPELLS OR DEVICES HAVE ALTERED TOMMY'S NEURAL FUNCTIONS. IT APPEARS HE HAS TRULY JOINED LORD ZEDD AS HIS HEIR." No, Tommy wouldn't…

_But he's not Tommy anymore, now is he? _A voice sneers in the back of my mind. _He's not your brother nor is he your friend. He's just another villain._

I quickly get up and make my way out of the command center. No one tries to stop me.

Overlooking the vast range of mountains before me, I come to a simple conclusion.

Tommy is gone…no, he never existed. Tirthor is just another threat to the planet, and the Rangers need to stop him.

As my mind sets firmly on this decision, I try to ignore the crying of my heart.


	8. Fallout

**A/N: Kuro here! And here we are at chap 7, part one. These are gonna be the really angsty chapters, so be prepared. Part two should be up by tomorrow night at the latest. **

**Also, while I may have a firm image of 'Tirthor' in my mind, I want to know what all my readers think he's like. So, to all the artists in the audience, here's a little challenge; draw what you think Tirthor looks like, in either his Beginnings outfit or what you think he looked like in The Life and Times. Winner gets a preview of the third story in the series, "Memoirs of a Supervillain." Contest ends when the story ends. Have fun!**

**Chapter 7.1**

Well, as far as 'evil' plots go, I'm about par for the course.

Objective one; convert Thomas to 'evil'; check.

Objective two; deal with the fallout of an angry teena…*ahem* Dragon; not check. I'd almost gotten burned that time. Note to self, add a heat shield spell to my glamour.

Objective three; reveal Thomas as my Heir to the Rangers; check, though I would really like to know where he got the name 'Tirthor' from. It's not bad, considering.

Objective four; deal with the fallout of an angsty teenager; wait…what?

Yes, that had been one thing I was not expecting; the emotional fallout of a child forced to give up what I would later find out was the only true friend he had ever had. Not an exactly easy life Thomas has had.

Allow me to set the stage; Thomas had all but disappeared after his début as Lord Tirthor, and the old coot had called his rangers back to the Command Center. With nothing to do on earth, I had teleported back to the Lunar Palace to find Goldar flat out unconscious on the Throne Room floor, fur singed and his green blood leaking out of his nose. Ouch. There was also the slight smell of burnt ozone in the air; lightning magic. Not good. Thomas was the only other person in the Palace who could use true magic.

I followed the burnt ozone scent all the way back to the living area of the Palace, all the way to Thomas's door. I tried the handle, but it was locked. I was tempted to just open it anyway, but when I heard the quiet sobs from behind the black wood, and felt the emotional turmoil, I backed off. He was going through a difficult time; he would need time to sort himself out.

I want back to he Throne Room to find the bumbling ape just coming to consciousness. Thomas knocked him good, didn't he? Fool deserves to be taken down a peg or two in my opinion.

Goldar sat up and growled in my direction. Oh, suck it up, he only punched you. With a magically charged fist. Details, details.

"Master, something must be done about that brat!" Brat, what brat? You'd better not be talking about my Heir, lamebrain! "I merely complimented him on such a successful instilling of fear, and he punched me!" Well, duh. He never wanted this in the first place! Oh, wait, Goldilocks (as annoying as he is, Jason does have a talent for nicknames) doesn't know that. "That little punk needs to learn his place!" Okay, time to put a stop to this.

"That _punk _is my chosen son and Heir!" As much as I hate my glamour, it's gravely voice is perfect for threatening people. "_You _would do well to remember that, Goldar! You WILL answer to him and should I hear of any dissension, I will allow him to deal with you as he sees fit!" You've never seen humor until you've seen seven feet of gold-encased monkey quivering in fear. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"

"Y-yes Master."

"Good. Now get out of my sight." As he hurried away, I felt a twinge of regret. Thomas didn't ask for this, but lashing out unexpectedly wasn't something I expected. His cold burning anger wasn't the type for random displays of violence. He was already changing.

But speaking of changes, I still don't understand how he was able to so completely cut himself off from his emotions, only to come unhinged at the slightest provocation from Goldar.

Sigh, another problem for me to work out. After I sleep. Which is another problem.

I'm going to have to go into my once a century restorative sleep very soon. I can stave it off for another few months, but that's cutting it very close. But I can't let Thomas take over the reigns too quickly. He needs time, and with Rita coming back soon, he's going to be doing a lot of adjusting in a very short period of time. I hope this doesn't break the poor boy, but something tells me he's made of sterner stuff than even Zordon thought.

Later. I need sleep.

* * *

Over the course of the next few weeks, I continued to train Thomas and teach him more complex magics than evocation, the quick and dirty magic he had mastered while under Rita's control. We grew closer as the days went by, but he still refused to tell me how he was able to completely seal himself off whenever I sent him to Earth. Something was going to give very soon, and I only hoped he'd be able to cope until then.

A little mental breakdown is good for the soul every once in awhile. I just didn't expect it to be so soon, or to happen in such a dramatic fashion.

Thomas was slowly but surely demolishing a contingent of at least four dozen putties in the training room as easily as you please while Finster watched, collecting data, but something seemed off. His arms were a little stiffer than they should have been, and more than once, when he blocked a strike, his face would contort in pain and then quickly return to a neutral mask. Putties hit hard, sure, but not that hard. Something wasn't right.

As the last of the putties turned back into useless clay, I approached him from behind.

"I'm sure one of the creatures would be more than happy to spar with you should your require more of a challenge." He whipped around, eyes wide, before settling back into his usual neutral expression.

"My Lord," he acknowledged, tilting his head. This was purely for Finster's benefit, as he was collecting the data on the devices that had been stored inside the defeated putties, "Finster merely asked for aid in upgrading the Z-Putties. Goldar is my normal sparring partner." He glanced over to the little white alien, who didn't look like he was leaving anytime soon. This _was_ his area of the Palace, though, so I guess it's to be expected.

"Very well. Come; we have much to discuss." With that, I span on my heel and strode out the door, Thomas close behind. Once we reached my private chambers, his neutral mask dropped.

"You couldn't have come sooner? I like helping Finster and all, but he's totally nuts about his monsters!" The exasperated look on his face was enough to send me to laughter; it had taken me nearly two Earth months to get him to trust me even this much, and it was truly refreshing. But once I remembered why I had brought him here, I sobered. I dispelled my glamour and looked him in the eye.

"Thomas, is everything okay, or, at least, everything as it should be?" I corrected quickly. 'Are you okay' was a banned question. It would set him off faster than anything Goldar did or said. He wasn't 'okay', he probably never would be.

His eyes shuttered quickly, and I knew this was gonna be like pulling teeth. "Yes, why do you ask?" he asked evenly.

"The putties." I said simply. "They don't hit that hard, but every time you blocked, you winced. Were you injured in the last battle?" I asked, referring to his last go round with the Rangers.

His eyes widened and he tried to back away, but my hand snapped out too quickly for him to react. As I clamped down on his forearm, his face winced with pain. He _was_ injured, and he hadn't told me!

With two quick movements, I jerked off both his bracers, looking at the skin beneath. When I saw what was there, I couldn't hold back my gasp of horror.

Thomas's wrists and forearms were a patchwork of old scars crisscrossed with new ones, some still red and a few that looked less than a day old. At first, I though that this must have started just after I recruited him, but then I did a quick check of all of them, and realized a horrifying truth; only a few of the scars were young enough to be from his time with me. The rest were far older. I estimated the oldest of them to be at least six years old.

"Thomas," I said, not meeting his eyes, "what is this?" He flinched and tried to pull away from my grasp, but I held him firm. When I finally looked in him in the eye, they were wide with pain and fear, tears ready to fall from them, but overlapping all of it was sorrow.

"Thomas," I repeated slowly, "_what is this?_" I asked in a growl that came close to my glamour form. Before I could shake him and demand him to answer, he ripped his arm free of my grasp, and used a simple transportation spell I had taught him just last week.

As soon as he disappeared, the shock of what I had just seen filtered through. I sat heavily on the bed, trying to regain my bearings.

Thomas was hurting. He was doing this to himself. I had seen it before, on my own planet, but I thought him too strong to resort to such a destructive method of making his pain go away. Goddess, what had sent such a strong, self-confident boy into such self-damaging behavior? Other than the obvious, of course.

One thing was for certain; I need to find him before he did something monumentally stupid, like commit suicide.

I hoped I found him in time. I would never forgive myself if he died by his own hand while under my watch.


	9. Fallout Pt2

**A/N: Kuro here! I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this out. My week kind of imploded around me. And thank whatever diety is listening for Pinky, or I never would have been able to get this out tonight. She wrote the skeleton of this chap with my ideas, I just fleshed it out. And now I sound like a necromancer. Joy.**

**Chapter 7.2**

It was stupid and childish, but once Zedd saw my arms, I panicked and ran. I took a blind teleport leap to earth's surface -not exactly the safest thing to do- and found myself on the ridge overlooking the mountain the housed the Power Chamber. *Sigh*, it makes sense. My subconscious automatically sent me to the one place I had ever felt truly at home.

Now it was just another painful memory.

_You have a lot of those, don'cha Tommy-boy? _Oh, god, not now.

_Aww, what's wrong? Don't you like me? _No.

_Now I'm hurt. I think I'm gonna cry. _Fine, just leave me alone!

_You know I can't do that! You made me, Tommy, you're stuck with me. _Shut _up_, Tirthor!

_You never used to say that, brother. I was the one you came to when Daddy hit you. I was the one you cried to when Mommy got drunk. Whatever happened to the love? _You're not my brother and I don't need you anymore!

_Don't need me anymore? That's a load of bull, and you know it! Who's the first person you ran to when the spell broke? Who helped you when your 'friends' turned their backs? Who did you turn to when you had to betray them? Who gave you your Dragon's heart? _No, I'm not like that. I'm not like _you_!

_Of course you are. You made me out of everything you wanted to be. Now that you _are _me, you want nothing of it. Talk about a 180…_

_What, no comeback? Aww, not the razor again! You're just making yourself weaker. Dying a couple of spandex suits red would be just as effective at stress relief. I wonder if Billy would turn purple? _

_Ooh, that was a good one. You need to be more careful, brother. One of these days you're gonna cut too deep, and I won't be there to haul your ass out of trouble again. Ouch, that's gonna leave a good scar. _

_You might want to wrap those up, there's a huge energy signature coming our way. _

I look up.

Before I realize what's going on, Zedd sweeps up to me, snatching the razor out of my hands and throwing it away before grabbing my arm and teleporting us to the moon.

He almost doesn't wait for the fire to fade away to speak.

"Look at me." He practically snarls.

_NO! Keep your eyes away!_

I glance at the ground. Tirthor knows far, far more about spellwork than I do.

"Tommy." Gently now, like…

..What?

I glance up.

Did he just...

Just call me _Tommy_?

Zedd winces suddenly. Oh, damn, Zedd, I forgot. You're a mind-reader...

_A mind-reader,_ Tirthor sneers, _Happy little mind-reader...he's a traitor, Tommy. Just like the others._

No.

_No? Why no, Tommy? Are you afraid?_

No...please...

_Afraid of what you did to Mom and Dad?_

"Shut UP!"

Zedd stares at me, and Tirthor takes my feet and moves them, but Zedd catches my arm.

"Tirthor. Tell me who you are talking to, now."

No. I can't. You'll think I'm insane. You'll take Tirthor away...

"Tommy."

"Tirthor."

"Tirthor, then--"

"No." I correct him, pulling away, wrapping my arms around each other because I'm cold, I'm oh so cold..."I'm _talking_ to Tirthor."

Zedd just stares.

"You don't want to know." I tell him, walking over to the window. Earth is half-full above me, beautiful and welcoming.

_No. No, he doesn't want to know, does he?_

Shut up, Tirthor.

_I'm sad. My own creator doesn't want me._

I never created you.

_Really? Tyr, the god of bravery, Thor, the god of strength? Those names you bestowed on me, the names that gave me life...you never thought of them? That first-grade class with the handy computers, the lectures on Norse mythology..._

Shut _up_, Tirthor!

_The fact that your own father beat you, and your own mother drunk her way into ignoring it?_

Tears are falling from my eyes.

I drag my nails across my wrist, trying to make the pain _work_, to send him away.

_You can't be rid of me, brother. You are me and I am you. We need each other._

"Tommy."

Zedd catches my hand in his.

He hates me. I know he hates me. He thinks I'm insane and he'll leave me to Zordon again. I can't do that, I can't go through that pain again, can't feel the hell-hurt-pain of Rita's mind torn from mine and Tirthor taking her place...

"Look at me."

I look up.

His eyes are...

Safe.

"It's going to be okay."

And then I cry.

* * *

It's not until I wake up hours later that I realize I had cried myself to sleep. Sitting up and looking around the room, my room, I see Zedd sitting in the chair in the corner, watching me.

"Are you ready to talk?" he asks softly. Am I? I absently notice the lack of commentary from the back of my mind.

Meeting his eyes, I see security, a place I can go to be safe. I just need to let it go.

So I did.


	10. Past Pain

**A/N; Kuro here, with a very late chapter. This was just as confusing to write as I'm sure it is to read, so here's a little help; **

Normal **is Tommy and Zedd talking and Zedd's thoughts.**

_Italics _**is Tirthor talking.**

**Bold ****is Zedd's visions.**

**So have fun and don't abandon me now! And all hail Pinky for kicking me in the pants to get this done.**

**Chapter 8:**

It takes him a few minutes to compose himself enough to talk, but when he does, the emotions pouring off him are enough to knock my breath away.

"I haven't exactly had an easy life…" Obviously. "But you probably already guessed that. My problems really started about a year after the Greenes adopted me…" Greene? But his name is Oliver...

I hate to do this, but I need to understand what he's going through. I open my mind a little more, and suddenly I'm not seeing a seventeen-year-old warrior. I'm seeing…

**A young boy with cropped brown hair, clutching a small stuffed green dragon as he's led away from a building bearing the sign "Fornell House". He couldn't have been more than five or six. I hear Thomas's voice echo from reality…**

"I was about six when they adopted me. I really don't know; I'm not sure when my real birthday is." That's... really sad, actually.

**The boy was led out to a black sedan by a blond slip of a woman, followed by a burly brunette man, holding a small bag. It was probably filled with Thomas's things from the orphanage. A stern-faced woman followed them.**

"**He's quiet when he's nervous, so he'll probably not talk for awhile. Of course you are aware of his disability, so I suggest not trying to force him." She turned from the man and knelt down.**

"**The Greenes are nice people, Thomas," she said slowly, like he wouldn't understand if she spoke faster, "They'll take good care of you." He blinked at her. She stood up. "I don't know why I bother. Have a good day, Mr. Greene, Mrs. Greene." With that, she turned sharply and walked back into the building. The Greenes quickly bundled the boy into the car and drove off.**

"When I was young, everyone was convinced I had a learning disability, like, I was slow or something. I just didn't like people, especially when they talked to me in that damn patronizing 'speak slowly so he'll understand' voice." I can see why. You're quite intelligent.

"**Tommy, you'll be starting school next week, okay?" Mrs. Greene looked him in the eye. It wasn't hard to miss the regret in her eyes.**

"**Try to keep up, I know it's hard." A stranger; his teacher looking down her nose at him.**

"**Hey! Its the dumb kid who can't talk!" The other kids in the class teasing him, pushing him around. He was a scrawny little boy, what could he do?**

"I didn't like the Greenes, but they were better than the damn orphanage. Marginally. Victor, my adopted father, was not a patient man. I usually refused to talk to him, and eventually he snapped. I was about seven, and he had just lost his job." What, like that's an excuse?

"**You gonna ignore me, boy?" He cuffed the boy on the head. "What about now?" I could smell the alcohol on his breath even in my dream-like state. **

"Susan generally ignored what he did to me, either pretending it didn't exist or too drunk to care. When she did notice, Victor cuffed her around, too. Eventually, she stopped caring and ended up drunk more than half of the time." An abusive father and an alcoholic mother. Goddess, how did he turn out they way he did? I mean, he's a forgiving person but this is just ridiculous.

**The boy whimpered slightly as the man cuffed him again, harder this time. In the kitchen, the woman sat, actively ignoring the beating taking place in favor of the drink in front of her. **

"By then, I had been studying Martial Arts for a few years. I tried to fight back once, but ended up in the hospital."

**My vision was a little cloudy, but I could still make out the shape of a man beating the child. It was all I could do to not lash out, even though I knew it was just a memory.**

"It only got worse after that, 'cause I found out I was a Native. Dad didn't like that, especially when I decided to grow out my hair."

**"I'm not gonna have a damn long-haired fag under my roof!" Victor snarled, advancing on the boy, who by now was around eight.**

"I got it cut off, 'cause it just gave him a place to hold me when he went at it. But the older I got, the more native I looked. He didn't like that."

**"You gonna do something about it, Indian boy?" Victor slurred, catching the boy with a backhand.**

_That was 'bout the time I showed up, huh? _

"Shut _up, _Tirthor!"

_Aww, I can't tell him how I was born? He's listening, you know, to your mind, watching your memories. _

"You're _what_?"

Oops. "Apologies." I mutter sheepishly. "It makes it easier."

Tommy regards me suspiciously, then sighs. "You wanna hear from him or me?"

I shrug. "Whomever knows the story."

Tommy sighs and lets Tirthor take over.

_Well, Zeddy, when little Tommy here was eight, he found a cool website on Norse mythology. He read all about these great heroes and gods, and decided he wanted to be like them. That's how I was born! _

"Enough, you told him, go away." It's a little surreal watching them talk to each other, but it's actually worse now that I can hear the other half of the conversation.

_Not yet, Tommy boy! Ya see, Zeddy, I used to be that little voice everyone had in the back of their head. You know, do this, don't do that, this is a bad idea, all that jazz. As Tommy-boy got older and things got worse, he started shunting all the crap he was dealing with at me. The more he did that, the more 'real' I became. I was able to talk to him, and we were pretty tight for awhile, like real brothers._

Thomas is silent through all of this. I wonder…

_Annnnyway, I was what he always wanted to be; strong, brave, and not about to take any shit from anyone. He started to give me more and more power. Soon, I was even able to control his body. But that stopped real quick, didn't it, brother?_

Tommy looks murderous.

I raise an eyebrow. "For those of us who don't understand what he's talking about..." I ask.

Tommy glares at me, but continues. "One day, things got really bad. Dad had had a few drinks and was in a really pissy mood, and he decided to take it out on his favorite punching bad."

**"C'mere, you little shit!" Victor slurred out, to drunk to notice when he kicked Susan out of the way from where she had passed out. He lifted his leg and aimed a viscous kick at the boy cowering in front of him. A loud snap was heard, and it was obvious his ribs had just given out.**

_And I was sick of it. So I took control._

"I don't really remember what happened next, but he does."

**Victor's fist connected solidly with the boy, now eleven, straight in his face and his head whipped around. Silence, save for the sound of Victor's labored breathing, reigned, until a roar echoed through the room, and things suddenly begin to flash too quickly for me to make out.**

**A flash of red.**

**A scream. **

**A roar like a rushing inferno.**

**A terrified face. **

**Green fire.**

**Blackness.**

"When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I had two severe lacerations running parallel to my spine and burns all down my arms. Those, plus shattered ribs and old, unhealed injuries kept me in the hospital for nearly four months. It wasn't until a few days later I found out what had happened."

_I wasn't kidding when I said I was sick of it. _

"The house had been burned to the ground. The police ruled it arson, but that didn't explain why the Greene's were missing half their limbs and internal organs." So he's got more than just a dragon's heart.

_They got what they deserved, and you know it. _

"After I healed, I was shunted to a foster home, where things just got worse. I was lucky to have my black belt by then, or I wouldn't have made it out in one piece. That's when I stopped giving Tirthor so much control. I found out that pain was the surest way to get him to shut up."

_See? Tommy's mean to me!_

I roll my eyes. A fearsome warrior Tirthor may be, but he is also highly annoying.

"That's when I started cutting. It just made everything easier, to focus on nothing but the pain and the blood running down my arm."

**The boy, now twelve, sitting in the corner of the communal shower with the water running. He stared at his arm as if he had never seen it before, watching the rivulets of carmine red run down his arm and into the drain. As the flow slowed, he raised the razor again and ran it almost lovingly across his forearm, watching steadily as the blood welled up anew.**

_I told him it was a bad idea, but he stopped listening to me. He still came to me with all his problems, though. So he's schizophrenic _and _bipolar!_

"The Olivers took me in not long after. They were better than the Greens, but not by much; they mostly ignored me. I lived with them for a few years before they found out about my cutting."

**The boy, fourteen, laying deathly still on the floor of his room, the beige carpet steadily turning black. A voice calls through the door before it opens. A scream rips through the room.**

"They sent me to the psyche ward and to a bunch of psychologists, but I never told them what was really going on. That's when we moved to Angel Grove."

**Its a jumble now; the tournament, meeting the rangers, even if he didn't know who they were, meeting Kim, the fight in the ally.**

**Rita invading his mind, turning his thoughts to darkness and to her. Forcing him to subvert to her will.**

_And when that witch gave him all the power he ever wanted. I'm pretty sure he saw her as a bit of a mother figure. It sucked; he wouldn't listen to me anymore. I don't think he could hear me._

"No, I couldn't, but I didn't care at that point."

**Rita became soothing voice in his mind, like a warm welcome after so many years in the cold. She replaced the harsh pain-hurt-anger of Tirthor's growl.**

_At least she gave you the Green Dragon coin. And she taught you magic. That's gotta be a bonus._

"Power, but no freedom."

_Point._

"When the spell broke, Zordon put up a good front for the other Rangers, welcoming me with open arms. But that was an act too. He had Alpha lock me in a chamber that had a direct link to the Grid, so he could dive into my mind." What!?

_That he did. And he did more damage than Rita ever could. He tore away at us, tearing apart anything that didn't belong. I hid from him, though; I safeguarded everything Rita taught us, in case he would ever need it. Its a good thing a did, too. _

_**PAIN. **_**That's all I felt as Zordon ripped his way through Tommy's mind. That old fool! The boy is HUMAN! Not Eltarian! Its amazing he even survived that with what was left of his sanity intact!**

"I had to keep a tight lid on Tirthor after that. One wrong word and I was back in that damn cell. But he did take the brunt of the withdrawal as Rita siphoned off my powers. When Zordon offered me the White Tiger coin, I only accepted because he had grown used to the power, and he needed it to survive." I think my darling wife an I need to have alittle chat when she gets back.

_I don't anymore, but thanks for the concern. Geeze, you didn't even ask me when you gave up the white morpher._

"I did apologize."

_Two weeks later!_

"I let you out to play whenever we go out to fight."

_Well, that's true. I guess we're even on that count. _

"Glad you agree." He finally shifted on the bed and looked up at me. I bring myself out of the trance I had been in. We sit in silence.

"So," I begin, "are you going to stop stonewalling me, now?" He lets out a choked laugh, but it quickly turns into a sob. I move over to the bed and gather him in my arms, and let him cry himself out.

After awhile, his breathing evens out and I realized he's fallen asleep on my shoulder. I get up and lay him out onto the bed and cover him. As I walk out the door and shut of the lights, I realize something; I'd done the same thing for Thrax after he'd had nightmares as a child.

Once a father, always a father, it seems.


	11. Clearing the Air Pt1

**A/N: Chapter nine is here, with a new point of view to check out! Part two will be out sometome tomorrow night!**

**Chapter 9.1:**

This is ridiculous, demeaning, and insulting. I am currently five inches tall, smell like a dumpster, and sneaking around my own home like a rat.

Zedd is _so _going to get when I'm back to full size.

Hearing soft footsteps coming my way, I quickly duck behind a handy pillar and wait until whoever it is passes. Risking a peak, I look up to see the very object of my thoughts striding down the corridor in his true form. Oh, good, he can get me down to Finster.

"Yo! Zeddy! Down here!" He stops, turns, and spots me in all my five-inch glory.

"Rita? Is that you?" Thank you, captain obvious. He kneels down and places his hand on the floor for me to step into.

"Of course it's me, metal mouth! You are _so _in the doghouse when I'm back to full size!" He stands up and lifts me to eye level.

"Now, dear…" oh, don't even _try _that on me, bucko!

"Don't you 'now, dear' me! Was the dumpster entirely necessary!?" He rubs his neck sheepishly.

"Well, maybe that was a little over the top…"

"'Over the top' my foot! You had better have a better excuse than that!" It's good to know I can still be so threatening when I'm literally the size of his hand. "Well?" He just stands there. "Whatever. Get me down to Finster's lab!"

"Yes, dear." He carries me down to the lower levels in silence. He's probably doesn't want to dig himself any deeper.

Once were there, he sets me down just outside of the lab. "This is as far as I can take you," he whispers, "I need to be back in the Throne room so I can inform everyone about my centennial recharge. You know what to do?" Well, duh, it was my plan, chrome boy.

Giving him a look, he chuckles abashedly. "Right, good luck, sweetheart." With that, he covers himself with his glamour and walks off down the corridor. With a huff, I make my way into Finster's lab. Showtime.

"Finster! Finster, get your white hide over here!"

-------------

Well, I'm stuck in Finster's lab for the time being, so it's as good a time as any find out what's been going on.

"Finster!" he scuttles in.

"Yes my queen?" I level my best glare at him.

"Tell me, what has dear old Zedd been up to in my absence?" He strokes his beard…thing. Seriously, what's with that thing?

"Well, He managed to fully destroy the Green Ranger's powers," Destroy? I hope not. I liked my little Green Ranger. "The rangers created a new one, the White Ranger, and have done quite well in beating off Lord Zedd's monsters." Take that, hubby dear! There's a reason I keep Finster around! "However, since Lord Tirthor has joined us, the rangers haven't stood a chance!" Tirthor? Who the hell is Tirthor?!

"Who the hell is Tirthor?"

"Ah, yes! I had forgotten, my Queen. Lord Tirthor is Lord Zedd's chosen Son and Heir. He is quite a fearsome warrior." Son and heir?

"But who is he?" A new voice cuts through the lab.

"He is me. And he's currently wondering why you're here, Rita." I turn quickly to find myself face to face with a very familiar person. Tommy is older now, he's taller, and his hair is longer, but the biggest difference is his eyes. I feel an involuntary shudder go down my spine as the green lizard-like orbs glare at me coldly.

"He is also wondering why youdidn't report to the Emperor as soon as she appeared, Finster." He continues mildly, as if talking about the weather. He sifts his glare to the goat-like creature, causing him to quake and shrink away. "I hope you have a good excuse. I'm bored, and I could use the entertainment." He crosses his arms a leans back against a support pillar. "Well?"

"M-my Lord!" He squeaked. "I had n-not, I mean, I w-would never…" Tommy rubs his eyes.

"Enough. Had I wanted to listen to nonsensical babble, I would seek out Goldar." He gestures, and with a small pop, Finster freezes in place. Huh, Time freeze spell. Someone's been busy in my absence.

Tommy looks up to me again and glares. Those eyes are still creepy. "And here I was hoping Zedd was kidding about you coming back. Hello, Rita." Ah, that's more like the Ranger I remember. I wonder if he's still bitter.

"Tommy." I acknowledge, "How have you been?" His eyes narrow. Uh, can I take that back?

"Oh, good;" he said lightly, "I've just been chosen to take over an evil empire, given a whole bunch of power but stripped of free will, and forced to fight against my friends. Same old same old." I wince slightly at that. Yep, still bitter. "How are you?"

"I smell like a dumpster, look like a lizard, and have a headache that could flatten a whale. How do you think?" He smirks.

"So, no change then." Hey! Oh, that's it! With a snap of my fingers, my glamour falls from my form, leaving an elf with platinum blond hair and purple eyes, dressed in white. His eyes widen; take _that_! "I probably should have seen that coming." His eyes rake my new form. "Interesting. The eyes kind of clash, though."

"Tommy, something's wrong with you." I say seriously. He's as good as my son; I know when he's off, and _this_ is off.

He gives me an amused look. "I'm not Tommy."

Oh, _shit_.

"Tirthor." I say softly.

Tirthor's eyes widen, then narrow. "How did you know?"

I smile slightly. "I've been in your mind. I remember that you had another personality. But I forgot his name until...well, now." My poor son...

"Don't you 'my poor son' me, Rita," he snarls, "You have no right to cal me that." He stalks forward. "You sealed me away, kept me locked up so I couldn't break my brother from your control. I'm _not _just another personality, _my empress_," he spits, "I'm a thinking, feeling _person, _and I don't appreciate being kept in a cage." He cuts himself off suddenly and tilts his head. "I have every right to be mad at her too, you know." What? "Yes, I know she enslaved you. She caged me!" Are…are they talking to each other? "Oh, fine. I was getting bored anyway." His eyelids flutter for a moment, and suddenly there's a shift; it's not so much physical as ambient. It's like his whole aura changed in an instant.

Maybe they are different people.

He refocuses on me and fixes me with a chilling glare. "Rita." Ouch, that was cold.

"Tommy." We regard each other in silence. His gaze flickers over to Finster.

"That freeze spell won't hold much longer. I'm going to have to rewrite his memory so he doesn't know I've seen you." He walks over and places his hand on the little alien's forehead. "I hope you have a plan, because Zedd isn't sharing." His eyes flash with witchfire and he turns to face me once again. "I'll see you around." In a flash of green, he's gone.

I stand rooted to the spot, not quite believing what just happened. Sure, I had expected him to be bitter, but the sheer coldness in his voice was icy enough to freeze magma.

A shuffle next to be lets me know that Finster is returning to normal time. I quickly wrap myself in my glamour.

"Ah, um… My Queen! What can I do for you?" Oi, mind wipes. I grin wickedly at him.

"Brew up a love potion, Finster! We've got a wedding to plan!"


	12. Clearing the Air pt2

**A/N: Kuro here, with, finally, 9.2. Once again, all hail Pinky.**

**Chapter 9.2:**

I'm brooding, I know I am. I'm curled up on my bed, the tome Zedd told me to read before he want to sleep open on my lap. But no matter how interesting it is, not even ancient Druid lore is enough to keep my attention.

But really, can you blame me? The woman responsible for everything I've been through for the past two years is back. If it hadn't been for her, I would have never gotten the green Power Coin, I would have never tried to kill the Rangers, I would have never known the pain of having my life force drained away, I would have never betrayed them by joining Zedd.

But, on the converse, I would have never made such good friends, I would have never found someone who was a real father to me, I would have never met Ki… _don't go there._

*Sigh* I'm trying. My thoughts just seem to keep drifting to her lately.

_I'm pretty sure she just appealed to your heroic instinct, always running around yelling for you to help her. Seriously, I swear she was going to blow out my eardrums. _

Enough!

_Fine, fine, I'll just go sit in the corner… _Tirthor's presence faded and I was left alone with my thoughts again. He's been giving up unusually easy lately.

I had no warning when something large and heavy bopped me over the head. Hand flying to my head, I whipped around to find the origin of my brooding state standing behind me, arms crossed, crescent staff in hand.

"What was that for!?" Her eyes flicker, and I realize she's incredibly amused.

"For brooding; I swear, teenagers are the worst! First Thrax goes off on that punk phase and now you with the teen angst!" She huffs and plops down on the bed next to me. "Honestly! What is so heavy on your mind?" She pauses at my glare, "Other than the obvious, of course."

I let out a heavy sigh. She looks sympathetic. "For what it's worth, I know what you're going through." At my disbelieving look, she smirks. "When your father's name is 'Master Vile', you really don't have much of a choice in careers."

"Who's Master Vile?"

"He's a Necromancer. He always wanted someone to succeed him in the whole 'villain' biz, but Rito was way too incompetent to ever be more than a petty attack drone. I, on the other hand, had serious skill with the arcane and a knack for tricking people into things. He kept trying to convince me to follow in his footsteps, but I preferred the healing arts to the dark powers." Her gaze became distant, like she wasn't in the room with me anymore. "He used a binding/unlocking spell on me. He bound my good nature and unleashed my nastier side."

"Like what you did to me. You unlocked all the hatred I had inside of me from my childhood." She nodded sadly.

"About thirty years later, I had eighteen planets under my command and three more on the 'to do' list. That's when I met Zedd." Oh, great, are we gonna go into a whole love story tangent?

"Zedd was…Different from all the other evil overlord I'd met. I won't bore you with the details," thank you _very _much, "but long story short, he broke the spells on me, explained what he was doing, and asked for my help. A few years later, we got married, secretly of course, had Thrax, and I got sent to Earth to take it over. 10000 years in a dumpster later, here I am."

Oh. "Must've sucked."

Rita nods.

I consider, then open my book, staring at it, my unbound hair hiding my face from view. Rita smiles and rests her hand on my spine. I would shake it off, but the warmth feels really good and it's unknotting my back. Ow. I didn't even know my back was knotted.

"I guess you are a healer." Tirthor says. When did he come back?

Rita shrugs. "I don't lie to you. No more than any mother does." He snorts and gives me back control.

"Right, mother, sure." I know I'm being cynical, but can you really blame me?

"I may not have been a model maternal figure, but I did – do – see you as a son. At first, yes, you were the perfect warrior; smart, quick, strong enough to take down even the Red Ranger, and fairly innocuous. After all, who would suspect the new kid in town?" Tirthor snorts again.

"A new kid with a thing for green; yeah, brilliant." Okay, seriously, stop it, Tirthor.

"Fine, Fine, I'll stop." He retreats back to his corner of my mind. I kinda hope he'll stay there for awhile.

She looks at me oddly. "You're very confusing to talk to, you know that, right?" I smirk.

"Understatement of the century." She shakes her head and continues.

"It's impossible to not pick up things from a mind when you're doing that kind of spellwork. When I went into yours…what I saw there…" She breaks off, and I wonder what exactly she gleaned from my mind. "I'm not sure what you remember from your time under the spell…" I cut her off.

"Everything." She looks at me in shock. "I remember every detail, right down to the smell the magic left in the air after you completed the spell." I hear a flash of something across her mind; it sounds like…regret.

(A benefit/consequence of studying magic; I'm hearing people's thoughts a lot easier than when I was just a ranger.)

She places her hand on my forehead. "I… had hoped it would be less than that. I purposefully botched one of the spells to backfire, so you would only have vague recollections of your time as my Ranger, but, unfortunately, it seems to have failed." She grimaces, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. I didn't even notice myself lean into the touch. Her arm slips around my shoulders. "My job in this was simple, Tommy; I had to create a warrior strong enough to stand against Zedd when he finally came; by the time he arrived, both you and Jason were the prime candidates. You just got lucky I guess." She smirks. "Its sort of a backhanded compliment, I guess."

"Funny, Zedd said something to that effect." Her smile widens.

"And what did you say?"

"I was a little out of it by that point, but I remember thinking that I could do without those kinds of compliments." She gives a soft chuckle and squeezes my shoulders.

"I sometimes wonder if Zedd really is your father. You both have the same sharp tongue." I can't help the small smile that creeps across my face. But it quickly vanishes as a familiar presence makes a beeline for my door.

"Goldar's coming." She nods, and in a puff of smoke she disappears. A moment later there's a knock on my door.

"Enter." He opens the door and kneels just inside. It may be a bit of Tirthor's personality leaking through, but I take a small bit of pleasure at the sight.

"My Lord, Finster's creation is ready to be sent. He is awaiting your command." I rise off the bed and stretch.

"Very well; let's see the rangers combat this. You're dismissed." Sliding my sword through my sash, I step out into the hall after him and make my way to the Throne Room.

As I'm walking, my mind drifts; a few days ago, I would have never allowed Rita anywhere near me. Today, after our talk, she seems, I don't know, motherly. Maybe I was just on edge from her abrupt arrival, but, then, it wasn't the spell that made me see her as a mother. She had actually cared for me during those weeks under her control, and lord knows I've never had a real mother figure to look up to.

It's not very funny, but I feel a grin spread across my face as a thought strikes me; of all the people in my homeworld, it's the ones who are trying to conquer it that makes me feel most at home.

* * *

As I watch my former friends battle the creature I sent down through my enchanted pool of water, I'm struck with a sudden feeling of dread. Frowning, I reach for Tirthor's presence.

Did you feel that?

_The feeling of the terror of a thousand creatures? _

That's the one.

_Yep. I wonder…_

We don't have to wonder long; over the sounds of the battle issuing from the pool, I hear my mentor's voice…

"My Queen! Oh, how I've missed you!"

Oh…

_Crap._


	13. White Light, Green Sight

**Kuro:I LIVE! Not much else to say, actually.  
**

**White Light, Green Sight**

You know, this day started out so normally, too.

Allow me to set the scene; I woke up to my usual alarm, Sam's morning tea whistling in the kettle. After stumbling downstairs (avoiding the cat who loves sleeping on the third stair), we ate breakfast and planned out the day. Today marked the first day the rez's mares would start to drop their foals. As an apprentice rancher, I was expected to take census of all the foals that dropped over the next few weeks. As soon as we had cleaned up, I got dressed and went out the door.

That's when thing got a _little_ strange.

As soon as I stepped out the door, my vision was obscured by a bright white light, and the strangest sensation, like that of nothingness, covered my body. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it may as well have been an eternity.

When the light cleared, I found myself in a dark, circular room filled with some kind of strange machinery. Lights flickered everywhere and what looked like a crystal ball on some sort of pedestal graced the far end of the room. The only ambient light in the room seemed to come from behind me. When I turned around, I damn near fainted.

At the head of the room was a huge glass tube that could easily have fit a car or one of those monsters that had been attacking Angel Grove recently, but it contained nether of these things; instead, in held a giant blue floating _head. _Who was now speaking to me.

"HELLO, DAVID TRUEHEART. I AM ZORDON." He, uh, knows my name. "YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED HERE TO THE COMMAND CENTER TO ADDRESS A MATTER OF GRAVE CONSEQUENCE." Grave consequence?

"Umm, I don't know what's going here…are you sure you've got the right David Trueheart?" Please say no.

"I AM QUITE SURE, DAVID." Damn. "I HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN AID ME."

"Za…Zer…Ze…sir, I'm just a ranch hand, how am I supposed to help you?"I hope he doesn't need a new body or something…that would suck.

"YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FROM A LIMITED POOL OF CANDIDATES TO TAKE OVER THE MANTEL OF THE WHITE TIGER POWER RANGER." Oh, is that al…

"**WHAT! **I can't be a power ranger!" No, seriously, I can't!

"DAVID, YOU ARE A FINE YOUNG MAN, AND YOUR SKILL IN MARTIAL ARTS WILL BENEFIT YOU GREATLY IN OUR BATTLE AGAINST THE FORCES OF LORD ZEDD, HIS WIFE AND QUEEN RITA, AND THEIR HEIR, LORD TIRTHOR. BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE." He somehow gestures behind me and I turn, looking to the globe I had noted earlier. "AS THE WHITE RANGER, YOU WOULD COMMAND THE POWER OF SABA, THE BEAST SWORD, AND THROUGH HIM, CONTROL THE MIGHTY WHITE TIGERZORD." On the globe came images of a ranger clad in white, fighting with a saber that looked like it was _talking,_ and standing astride a huge, mechanical white tiger. "I ASK YOU, ON BEHALF OF THE WORLD, WILL YOU STEP UP AS ITS PROTECTOR, AND JOIN THE MIGHT MORPHIN' POWER RANGERS?" When you put it like that…NO! No, I'm just a teen-aged ranch hand trying to take care of his uncle and find his lost brother!

Zordo, or whatever, seems to see my indecision.

"DO NOT TAKE THIS DECISION LIGHTLY; I WILL NOT BEGRUDGE YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DELIBERATE YOUR DECISION. HOWEVER, YOU MUST NOT TAKE TOO LONG, THE FORCES OF LORD ZEDD MOVE EVER CLOSER, AND SOON HIS SIGHT WILL SPREAD BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF ANGEL GROVE." Damn…he must know how proud and protective my people of what little we have left…and from the way he's spinning this…

Soon, it won't matter if I take the job or not.

"I…I accept…Zordon." Yep, that's his name! I wonder if the machines are named after him?

"THEN EXTEND YOUR HAND, YOUNG WARRIOR, AND RECEIVE THE POWER THAT HAS BEEN OFFERED TO YOU." I held out my hand, and something small and heavy materialized in it. I held it up and looked closely and the gold coin embedded in the center. "THE WHITE POWER COIN IS NOW YOURS TO WIELD. BEAR IT, AND ITS POWER, WITH HONOR."

Swell.

_*MIGHTYMORPHIN*_

You know, I don't think Zordon discussed his decision to make me the white ranger with the rest of the power team…cause the moment they teleported in, they all reacted with varying degrees of panic, and in the one boy's case, violence.

The Asian girl glared at me coldly, while the strawberry-blond it pink covered her mouth with her hands as tears began to gather in her eyes. The blond boy in blue and the black boy (yay alliteration) slid into easy defensive positions in front of them. But the brunette in red leapt forward with a warcry and attacked. In a short flurry of blows, we came to a deadlock.

"Dude, what is your _problem_!" He merely snarled at me.

"What are _you _doing in the Command Center!" He growled out, he broke out of my hold and readied another attack, but Zordon's voice halted him.

"JASON, THAT IS ENOUGH. THE YOUNG MAN BEFORE YOU IS DAVID TRUEHEART. HE HAS AGREED TO TAKE ON THE POWER OF THE WHITE RANGER." The kid in red, Jason, looked up in shock.

"But, he…" I what?

"I AM WELL AWARE OF HIS RESEMBLANCE TO LORD TIRTHOR." Wait, what? "HOWEVER, HE IS A TRUE WARRIOR AND WILL SERVE THE POWER WITH HONOR." I looked up to Zordon questioningly.

"I look like whom?" But I was ignored. Well, it was for a good reason. Klaxons went off on the consoles and another image appeared in the viewing globe.

"A CREATURE IS ATTACKING THE BUSINESS DISTRICT. IT APPEARS, DAVID, THAT YOU WILL LEARN OF YOUR POWERS THROUGH A TRIAL BY FIRE." Wait, what?

Jason turned to face the others. "I hope you're a fast learner." He and the others pulled out devices similar to mine. "Its Morphin' Time!"

Gripping my, well, I suppose they're called 'morphers', I felt a presence flow through me and direct my arms into a twisting motion, and the morpher activated.

In another flash of light, we teleported to the business district, and to my first battle as a ranger.


End file.
